Disclaimer: Don't own, never will.

Authors note: thanks Moonlight Enchantments, gsrfan1, friendly girl, dshortklutz and Mooncat100 for the reviews they gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

He stared at Lockhart his mouth still open.

"God Ray, I'm sorry you had to hear it from me, she said she would tell you." Abby floundered unable to find the words to make it any better. She tacked some more ' just like her' and 'can't believe it' on the end, her frustration and pity evident.

He had to look at the floor the ever-present sympathy in her eyes and the uncomfortable burning feeling in his own shaming him.

"Where has she gone?" He managed to choke out the words his throat seizing with the effort to control himself.

"She gave me her letter of resignation to give to Dubenko, she said she was going to come over and tell you, Ray she's gone home to England" She sighed heavily.

"She did come over, she" He paused clumsily unsure of how to phrase this " She just didn't tell me she was leaving" He met her knowing eyes, well aware that he was blushing. He'd never found himself bashful about his sex life before but this was different, this wasn't about bragging rights. He had loved, did love Neela and she had left him.

Again.

"Oh" it was pretty much all she could manage, suddenly understanding his eagerness to find her this morning. She looked at her watch.

"Her flight doesn't leave until one, She was pissed that she had to book in two hours before." She offered helpfully a gentle hand placed on his arm.

He knew what she was suggesting and he wanted to go after her but what if she didn't care, what if she still left.

"What if she won't stay," He voiced his fear giving up any pretense that he wasn't hurting.

"Then you'll know" Abby shrugged, she had always been the ER sage. A fount of knowledge and advice to them all, wise beyond her years.

"Keep hold of her resignation and if I'm not back for my shift"

"I'll tell Weaver you were called away" she interrupted as he bolted out the door.

"Thanks Abby" He called already running.

Neela starred into her coffee aimlessly, she was a coward, she should have told Ray, hell even if she had left him a letter. She tried to call him earlier from the cab but chickened out.

She loved him and that was why she had handed in her resignation and booked herself a flight back to London. She couldn't bear the certain heartbreak that losing Ray would ultimately bring.

This was for the best, to lose him now would be hard but to stay and wait for the inevitable day that he would tire of her and move on would devastate her.

She wiped angrily at the silent tears that had leaked unceremoniously down her cheeks.

How had this ever happened to her? Ray was the cocky rock doc that had teased her for giving up and working at the jumbo mart, The inconsiderate roommate that didn't clean up after himself and made too much noise.

He was the hot guy with the smile that could change her day, the kind friend that had known when she was upset and just how to fix it.

The best friend that had offered his support and respected her wishes when she had pushed him away even though she knew it had hurt him.

Ray cursed the traffic and looked at this watch again. The cab had been stuck here for only a few minutes but it seemed like a lifetime to him. He had no idea what he was going to say to her but he knew he had to see her to try and get her to reconsider. It was the cheesy end to more than one of the chick flicks that Neela had made him watch when they had been roomies, but he didn't care.

The mad sprint to stop the woman you love leaving was fine by him because if it didn't work he would be to distraught to be embarrassed by his clichéd plea for her to stay.

Besides it always worked in the movies.

To his relief the cab was finally moving again. He tried to compose his thoughts, to think about what he was going to say when he got there.

He had already told her he loved her, she hadn't responded to that the way he'd imagine that she would. She doubted him and his feelings, he couldn't blame her; He had spent so much time and effort trying to convince himself they weren't real it was no surprise she didn't believe him.

Of course there was the terrifying possibility that she didn't have feelings for him, that he had merely been an itch she needed to scratch before she departed.

He tried to shake the thought from his exhausted brain, she had feelings for him too he was sure of it, he just wasn't sure the depth of those feelings.

She had sat trying to defy the urge to run back to Ray to enjoy whatever time she could get out of him, when her cell phone chirped from its place in her pocket.

She opened it cautiously; every fiber of her being hoping that it was Ray.

The caller ID disappointed her, it was Tony. She considered closing her cell and turning it off but She answered anyway, the only thing Tony had ever done wrong was not be Ray.

"Hello" She greeted guardedly she knew he would have read her Dear John letter by now.

"Neela, where are you? Are you with him?" He sounded resentful.

"No, I'm not" She sighed instantly regretting the note of disappointment apparent in her answer.

"Neela, I thought we had something, Can't we talk about this"

The beseeching tone in his voice did little to ease her guilt at using him.

"I'm sorry Tony" She was sorry, she had never meant to hurt him. She was just looking for some comfort, something to distract her from her inappropriate feelings for Ray.

"He's not good enough for you," He stated flatly hanging up his end.

Of all the things she had ever thought about Ray she had never once considered him unworthy.

Okay so I haven't made Tony the bad guy 'cos it really isn't his fault he's not Ray.

Hope you still enjoyed it.

Raven